Meet Zendaya As She Shakes It Up In Michigan!

Fans love Zendaya and her kind-hearted, socially-conscious character Rocky on Shake It Up. Now the 15-year-old actress is showing her appreciation for their support with a series of appearances throughout Michigan this weekend (January 26-27) and some special meet-and-greets that will benefit children’s charities. Rocky would definitely approve!

Zendaya talked exclusively with Celebrity Teen Scoop about the upcoming event, gave us a glimpse at what’s coming up in Shake It Up and shared her plans for the rest of 2013. (Hint: It’s all about her music!)

Celebrity Teen Scoop: Share some details with our readers about your upcoming events at the Art Van Stores.Zendaya: On Saturday, January 26, 2013, I will be appearing at Art Van Stores in Novi and Lansing in Michigan. I am excited, because I’ve never been to Michigan before and I can’t wait to see my fans there. The most important thing is to meet my fans, get to know them, and give them hugs and stuff. [See details on Zendaya’s visit below.]

CTS: What’s the craziest experience you’ve had on one of your meet and greets?Zendaya: I don’t know; I haven’t had any really crazy experiences. I’ve met fans that cry and fans that bring pictures of me that they drew. This one time I was supposed to be at a meet-and-greet for three hours, and I stayed for eight hours so I could sign autographs for everybody. I didn’t want kids to go home crying. Every meet-and-greet brings its own little story.

CTS: Tell us about the charities your appearances will benefit – one in support of anti-bullying and one for grieving children.Zendaya: The appearances are free to the public, but the special meet-and-greets are going to benefit two charities: NoBLE at Beaumont Children’s Hospital to support anti-bullying and Ele’s Place in Lansing to support grieving children.

For me, it is really important to reach out to kids, because my demographic consists of kids and I’m still a kid. These are big topics that exist in the world right now, and I feel that as a young person, it is important for me to be involved in something that other young people can relate to. I can use my young mindset to help all of the other young people that are watching me.

CTS: Were you ever bullied when you were younger? If so can you tell us what impact it had on you?Zendaya: I wasn’t bullied when I was younger. I was fortunate for that not to happen. I was that chill kid that kind of mellowed around school and didn’t have any problems with anyone. However, I know kids that were bullied and it’s not like just because I didn’t get bullied I don’t know what it was like or I didn’t witness it or know it existed. It is evident that bullying is everywhere.

The only bullying I experience are bad comments online or mean tweets. When it comes down to cyber-bullying, the most important thing to do is just turn it off and not care. If you’re getting bullied on the Internet, it’s so easy to fix. Turn off your Internet or delete and block the bullies. It’s so easy to just sign out and shut down your account.

CTS: What’s coming up for Rocky in the rest of Season 3 of Shake It Up?Zendaya: As you could see, Rocky is growing up and becoming a mature young lady. In the future episodes, you will see a lot of drama. There will be family issues and things going on, and Rocky will help others in a way that puts her in a weird position. There will be all kinds of craziness, and you will see how Rocky deals with these issues and problems that kids face nowadays. It’s not like the problems are unrealistic; they are real actual problems.

CTS: We hear you’re working on an album. Can you give us a sneak peek at what to expect?Zendaya: For me, it is so important to make great music that reflects who I am. The album is going to feature a little bit of everything. I want it to be in that pop field, but have more of a hip-hop twist to it. There is going to be some R & B and a little bit of a reggae vibe; I think it is really important to add styles to the music so it is universal and everyone will be able to listen to it. One of the songs will actually be on the Shake It Up soundtrack.

CTS: Do you have any more dates coming up on the Swag It Out tour?Zendaya: Not right now. I am so busy with Shake It Up and things like that, so we are kind of doing things gig-by-gig. We do a gig, and then we go home. Given my quite crazy schedule, we are never once-a-month or whenever. To make sure you stay updated and in the loop, check the website.

CTS: What other exciting projects do you have coming up for 2013?Zendaya: Right now, it’s definitely all about my album. I am focused on making quality music and putting things out there that I am really proud of. Extending into the music area is important to me, because it’s something that I love and have a huge passion for. I can’t wait to do that.

Zendaya will be visiting Art Van Furniture in Novi (27775 Novi Road) from Noon to 1:30 p.m. and its store near Lakeside Mall (14055 Hall Road inShelby Township) from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 26th. On Sunday, January 27th, Zendaya will visit Art Van Furniture in Lansing (8748 West Saginaw Highway in Lansing Charter Township) from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. For more information visit the Art Van Furniture website.